HB5628 Summary

• Establishes comprehensive protections and support services for students who are parents, expectant parents, or victims of domestic or sexual violence, ensuring they can remain enrolled and graduate from Illinois schools.

• Requires schools to provide reasonable accommodations including flexible scheduling, private counseling spaces, classroom transfers, and access to extracurricular activities without penalizing absences related to their status.

• Mandates each school designate trained staff to support these students, implement confidentiality protocols, and establish policies that do not create barriers to enrollment, attendance, or graduation.

• Allows students who are domestic or sexual violence victims to transfer schools immediately within or across districts if continued attendance poses safety risks, with tuition waived for non-resident transfers.

• Treats students' status as a mitigating factor in suspension and expulsion proceedings and defines "valid cause" for absence to include parenting responsibilities, medical appointments, and safety planning related to domestic or sexual violence.